Art Director Jonathan Cresswell-Jones has created an evocative cover that will pull at the souls of Canadians, both those who have a cottage or cabin, and those that aspire to do so. And woodworkers and home improvement folks will be itching to get started on this exciting project.

The skybar works hard with call outs, color, and a Free Poster premium. The sell lines all take full advantage of the left hand real estate. The button adds some zip. And the number 23 helps quantify the value proposition.

The Fall/Winter 2018 issue of Weddingbells is now ready for its big reveal…and it looks glorious.

“Stories to watch for include “Viva Las Vegas,” a colourful fashion editorial that redefines the idea of a glittery and glam Vegas wedding; chic hair inspo taken straight from the fashion runways for creating the coolest updos; décor ideas to suit every celebration from traditional to modern; an eight-page photo feature showcasing gowns with unique texture, silhouettes and design details; and our ever-popular and always-anticipated real wedding coverage highlighting the most beautiful Canadian weddings and destination weddings submitted by Canadian readers,” says Alison McGill, Editor-in-Chief.

The July 2nd, 2018 issue of Time magazine is a great example of the power of a great magazine cover.

The image of a two year old Honduran girl in tears (taken by Pulitizer Prize-winning photographer John Moore) has been photo-shopped into an ominous image of President Trump looming over her. The headline, Welcome to America, sums things up in three short words, and creates a powerful and emotional reaction. If you google the cover, Time, CNN and the Huffington Post comes up pushing the magazine.

UPDATE: The Washington Post reports that the cover image used to vilify Trump is “Fake News.” The Washington Post reports that, “the father of the girl confirmed to The Washington Post Thursday night that the child and mother were not separated.”

The story goes on to say that, “In Honduras, Denis Javier Varela Hernandez recognized his daughter in the photo and also feared she was separated from her mother, he told The Post. But he learned this week that his wife and daughter were not, in fact, separated. The mother, 32-year-old Sandra Sanchez, was detained with her nearly 2-year-old daughter, Yanela, at a facility in McAllen Tex., Varela said.”

It turns out that the mother of four abandoned her other three children, left without telling her husband, and paid a human smuggler or “coyote” $6000. The Post goes on to say that, Time magazine’s story, recounting the Pulitizer Prize-winning photographer John Moore’s experience at the border, initially stated the girl was carried away screaming by border agents,” but have now admitted that that was incorrect.

The controversy swirling around the cover as “fake news” will only help it sell more copies.

Like many U.S. magazines in Canada, sales were tougher to come by in 2017. Vanity Fair actually did better then many of the other top brands, with sales slipping 13% overall. Only 3 of 12 issues posted gains in their respective time slot in 2017 vs. 2016.

The second-best seller of the year was the Oct 2017 issue, featuring Meghan Markle on the cover. It sold 30,015 copies at an impressive 40% sell-through efficiency. The average sale on the other 11 issues was 20,974 copies, so Meghan was up 9,041 copies or 43% compared to the other issues last year…that’s noteworthy!

That success must have made the decision to feature the happy Royal Couple on the cover of their June 2018 issue quite simple.

Not to be outdone by their crosstown rivals at the New Yorker, the April 2nd issue of New York magazine sports a cover depicting President Trump as a pig. Excellent photo-shopping work!

As is typically the case, reactions to the cover are predictably partisan. Comedian Kathy Griffin, who was investigated by the Secret Service for her decapitated Trump head, loved it on Twitter. Others ask the question: How would you feel, had Hillary Clinton won, if New York magazine made her into a pig? Would that be funny?

New York magazine is probably just loving all the attention and sreaming “Wee Wee Wee”, all the way to the bank.

The April 2018 issue of the National Geographic came with a big dose of self-flagellation: “For decades, our coverage was racist.”

Thus proclaims the new, and only 10th, editor of National Geographic, since its founding in 1888…130 years ago. Susan Goldberg is the first woman, and the first Jewish person, at the top of the Masthead. Her editorial letter goes on at great length talking about their many sins from the past. She commissioned a renowned historian to dig into it and report on the findings bluntly.

“We asked John Edwin Mason to help with this examination. Mason is well positioned for the task: He’s a University of Virginia professor specializing in the history of photography and the history of Africa, a frequent crossroads of our storytelling. He dived into our archives.

What Mason found in short was that until the 1970s National Geographic all but ignored people of color who lived in the United States, rarely acknowledging them beyond laborers or domestic workers. Meanwhile it pictured “natives” elsewhere as exotics, famously and frequently unclothed, happy hunters, noble savages—every type of cliché.

For us this issue also provided an important opportunity to look at our own efforts to illuminate the human journey, a core part of our mission for 130 years. I want a future editor of National Geographic to look back at our coverage with pride—not only about the stories we decided to tell and how we told them but about the diverse group of writers, editors, and photographers behind the work.

We hope you will join us in this exploration of race, beginning this month and continuing throughout the year.”

This has generated mostly praise from both the mainstream media and social media.

This cover, which has gotten plenty of free “earned media”, showcases fraternal twins as a jumping off point for a discussion of race. It will probably sell incredibly well.

The March 26th, 2018 issue of the New Yorker is generating a lot of buzz, both roars of laughter and twitter users denouncing “body shaming”.

Artist Barry Blitt has created a memorable and emotive illustration that is sure to help it sell.

Folks on the left seem a bit conflicted. Sure, they say, fat-shaming is terrible and wrong, but in this case, well, he deserves it.

The irony of Fox News publishing this nugget is quite rich: “While many critics chimed in with responses calling the image “disgusting” and “repulsive,” others accused the image of mocking the president for his physical appearance – which is generally frowned upon in the current cultural landscape.”

Some outraged Conservatives tweeted: “Why is his weight relevant?” Or “Imagine the s–t storm had Madame @HillaryClinton won and a magazine had decided to run a cover of her along these lines.”

Is it wrong to Fat Shame? I guess it just depends. But I’ll bet it helps sell this issue!

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About Me

Scott Bullock is a veteran circulation expert with over 38 years experience in both Canada and the United States.
He has worked on trade titles such as Publisher’s Weekly, Library Journal, School Library Journal and Small Press in the USA.
In consumer magazines, Scott was the Circulation Director for D Magazine (the city magazine of Dallas, Texas), and in Canada he was the Circulation Director for Toronto Life, Fashion, and Canadian Art.
From 2000 to 2004, Scott was a partner at Coast to Coast Newsstand Services.
Scott has also held the post of VP Sales & Marketing, for CDS Global, Canada.
Currently, CoversSell.Com is Scott’s circulation consultancy. Active clients include: Fly Fusion, Canadian Geographic, Canadian House & Home, Canada’s History, Canadian Real Estate Wealth, Canadian Woodworking, Canadian Cycling, Canadian Running, Canadian Scrapbooker, Legion, Harrowsmith, SkyNews, and SuperTrax.